An Evening Out
by enpauriel
Summary: Jack has returned from his journey with the Doctor end of series 1 to find his team in something of a subdued state. So, in typical Jack style, he decides to do something about it.
1. Chapter 1

Title: An Evening Out

Title: An Evening Out

Rating: PG-13. Couple of swear words.

Pairing: Jack/Ianto, plus team.

Genre: Character bonding.

Warnings: Couple of swear words.

Spoilers: If you've watched both series so far there aren't any, and really if you've only seen the first there aren't many. This story is set a couple of weeks after Kiss Kiss technically, so it ignores most of season 2.

Disclaimer: I make no profit, they're not mine, none of it is. Well, except my three OC's but even I don't like them much so I don't want them.

AN: First Torchwood fic, please be kind! Reviews gratefully received.

It had been a quiet day in the Hub. A quiet week in fact, and for once Jack wasn't complaining. He'd been through quite enough adventure and excitement for just a little while during his latest travels with the Doctor, and he was enjoying the opportunity to get to know his team again now that they'd stopped giving him the silent treatment for disappearing on them. One member of the team in particular of course … Ianto. Jack still couldn't quite believe he'd asked the other man on a date, a proper date, with talking and the knowledge that the evening might not necessarily end with sex which even Jack had to admit was his usual reason for taking someone to dinner.

It had been fun though, he recalled. More relaxed than their usual encounters which he had found surprising. He had expected Ianto to grill him about his disappearing act given the chance, but the Welshman had chosen to enjoy the fact that Jack was back instead and had even taken the time to fill him in on what exactly had been going on back in Cardiff.

"Just full of surprises aren't you Ianto?" Jack mused to himself, and jumped when a confused voice answered him.

"Sir?"

He turned to find Ianto standing in the doorway to his office, holding a mug that Jack was sure would be filled with abnormally good coffee.

"Nothing." He said, directing a high-powered beam of a smile at Ianto in the hopes of distracting him. "Is that for me?" He added, nodding at the coffee.

"Uh, yes." Ianto replied a little distractedly and Jack congratulated himself on a diversion well done, getting to his feet, taking the mug and moving the two of them back out into the main part of the Hub before Ianto had a chance to clear his head.

The rest of the team were all still there despite the relatively late hour, taking the opportunity the quiet time gave them to catch up on some of the paperwork that often got left undone when there were Weevils to chase and aliens trying to kill them. Gwen looked up and smiled as he and Ianto entered, but Tosh was obviously engrossed in something on her computer and didn't even notice them and Owen … well you could never tell with Owen. He might have honestly not noticed them or he might have decided to ignore them, either way he didn't react.

Jack frowned, taking in the slightly down atmosphere in the room. Even Gwen's smile hadn't had the usual accompanying sparkle in the eyes. Looking closer he noticed the signs of tiredness, dark circles hidden by make up in the case of Gwen and Tosh and possibly treated with something alien and therefore highly unethical in the case of Owen. None of them had been sleeping, and he didn't know why. They weren't angry with him anymore and their caseload had been lessened since he'd been back. He wondered what was going on and then, being Jack, decided to just ask.

"Hey." He said, only succeeding in stopping Ianto who had been about to head off to the Archives and getting Gwen's attention again, Owen and Tosh still hadn't looked up.

"Hey!" He said again a little louder, finally getting a reaction from everyone.

"What?" Snapped Owen, his head popping up from the little morgue.

"Over here, all of you." Was Jack's answer, as he made his way over to the small seating area up against one of the walls. Slowly, and with a lot of reluctance from some, the team made their way over and threw themselves into seats.

"Well?" Owen again of course, always on the defensive.

"I want to know what's going on." Jack asked in his usual straightforward manner, but the team misunderstood.

"Nothing's going on Jack." Gwen started. "The Rift has barely even hiccupped in the last few days, we've had no reports of anything alien, there's no …"

"Not what I meant." Jack interrupted her. "I mean what's going on with you, all of you. You've been quiet and I've just figured out that you've not been sleeping. Is there something I should know?"

They all started to mutter something in protest, but as Jack fixed them all with a steady gaze they gave up and answered him properly.

"I've just been busy." Tosh spoke first. "With all the close calls we've been having I'm trying to improve all our equipment so we can learn of sightings faster, and I've been trying to sort out the security inside the Hub a bit more just in case. It would help if people would stop deleting sections of the CCTV footage. I can get it back it just takes a lot longer."

Jack grinned at that and tried very hard not to look at Ianto who he knew would be blushing right about now at the idea that Tosh might have seen some of the things they had got up to over the past few weeks.

"Alright." He said, directing his attention at Tosh instead. "But you don't have to do it on your own, Ianto can help with that, and you don't have to take your work home with you. When you clock out, you stop working, got it?"

Tosh nodded. Jack regarded her a bit sceptically, not sure she'd actually be able to hold to that, but accepted her offer to try.

"What about you?" He asked, turning to Gwen who squirmed a little under the attention.

"I … it's Rhys." She said finally.

"Problems?"

"No. Well, not exactly. I just hate keeping things from him and ever since we got engaged it's been worse. I go home at the end of a day when something's happened and I need to talk about it and I can't, and it's poor Rhys that suffers when I'm frustrated about that. And then I feel guilty about it all so I can't sleep."

Jack internally slapped himself. How could he have forgotten that Gwen always had to talk about what happened, she couldn't just work it through on her own like the rest of them, she needed to understand. He realised that he had been so wrapped up in repairing his relationship with Ianto that he had shut her out a little and made things worse for her.

"What if we set aside some time out of office hours each week to have a chat?" He suggested. "If there's something bothering you from an earlier case we can talk about that or you can just get some feelings out in the open."

Gwen nodded slowly, but her eyes fell on Ianto.

"I don't want to take up your time though." She said. Jack went to reply but Ianto beat him to it.

"I can handle it." He said with a smile. "Be nice to have a few moments to myself every now and then."

Gwen grinned back at him and Jack noticed again how much closer the two of them had become during his absence. He knew that Ianto had supported Gwen rather than Owen during that period and that their shared heritage gave them something to talk about other than work … or him.

"Do we have a deal then?" He asked and she nodded her agreement far more convincingly than Tosh had. "Good. We'll sort out the details later. Can't have you just turning up, who knows what you might walk in on."

He slid a smirk onto his face and watched in satisfaction as her face turned red as she thought of the possibilities. Laughing when she waved a hand at him in annoyance he turned at last to Owen, who did not look thrilled at the idea of sharing.

"So?" Jack finally had to speak as the silence had stretched on, Owen staring mutinously at the floor so as not to meet his eyes. "Owen …"

"What, Jack? I don't feel like doing the group therapy thing today. Alright?"

"No, it's not alright." Jack replied, feeling his temper rising. "I'm worried about you."

"'Course you are." Owen scoffed, looking as though he didn't believe it for a moment. Jack frowned and moved to crouch in front of him, putting his face directly in Owen's line of sight. The other man shifted, obviously uncomfortable, but Jack didn't relent.

"Come on Owen. You want me to be more open with you then you have to be more open with me. I'm trying here, and maybe I don't always get it right but at least I'm making the effort. You want to know my entire history, all I want to know is why you're not sleeping, I think it's a fair deal."

"Doesn't mean I have to tell the rest of them." He replied, eyes darting between the other members of the team.

"We've all seen what secrets can do here." Jack replied, glad that he was in a position to give Ianto a reassuring smile as he spoke. "Which is why we're trying this new thing called actually talking to each other. So talk to us Owen, maybe we can help."

Owen brought his eyes to rest on Jack's at last and the two of them held the gaze for a long moment. Jack didn't know what the other man was looking for but apparently he found it, as he finally gave a short jerk of the head and began to speak.

"Drinking. And sex. I leave here, I find a pub, I get hammered and I find someone to shag so by the time I get home I'm so exhausted I can just fall into bed for a couple of hours. Because if I don't do that …" he paused and took a deep breath, "if I don't do that … I dream."

"Dream of what?" Jack asked gently.

"Her … them." Owen replied, and no one needed any more clarification than that. Her was clearly Diane, the woman who had finally broken through his tough exterior and helped him fall in love, only to leave again. Them, well only Jack really knew the history behind that wall Owen had built, and he didn't feel the need to share that with anyone else.

"I'm sorry." Jack said, his voice full of compassion. "I'm so sorry. But there are other ways to deal with this, ways that don't hurt you. You're a doctor, aren't there pills that can stop you dreaming?"

"They don't always work." Owen replied shaking his head. "And it hurts too much to take the chance."

Jack opened his mouth to list off some more suggestions but was again interrupted by Ianto, who carefully moved his boss out of the way and sat down next to Owen.

"Do you know that old saying? Time heals all wounds." Owen grunted a yes and was about to argue the point, but Ianto's next words shocked him into silence. "It's a lie. Whoever came up with it can never have known the loss of a loved one. It does hurt, it hurts every day and it never goes away, but you can live through it. You'll wake up every morning and the pain will still be there, you'll dream of her and wake up crying, you'll think you see her in another woman's face – and you'll do that until you accept what happened and remember her for who she was. As long as you hope that she'll come back you will always feel the pain when she doesn't. If you accept that she's gone, well, it doesn't stop it hurting but it does let you have a life again."

Owen was silent after Ianto's obviously heartfelt speech, visibly taking in the words. None of the rest of the team made a sound either, though Gwen and Tosh both had tears in their eyes and Jack was staring at Ianto with a mixture of pride and sorrow in his. Ianto returned the look with a gentle smile and returned his attention to Owen, who had just let out a ragged breath.

"How can I stop it hurting if I remember her, if it's when I remember her that it hurts the most?" He asked, speaking more to himself than Ianto though the latter replied anyway.

"It's hard, it's hard and it takes time. But if you have people there for you when it gets too tough you can make it through. I had Jack, you have all of us if you'll let us help."

Owen stared at Ianto, indecision swimming in his eyes. Jack and Tosh who had both gone through similar things over the years each placed a hand on him, wanting to show their support, and even Gwen who had never had to survive that kind of pain reached out to him. The combination was too much for Owen. He buried his head in his hands and they watched as his back heaved for a few moments. There were no tears; Jack privately suspected he'd cried too much to produce any more, but racking sobs ripped through him even so.

It felt like hours but was probably no more than a few minutes before his body was still again and Owen sat back in the sofa, resting his head on the back of it.

"Ok." He said, his voice hoarse but lighter than it had been before his breakdown. "Ok, I'll try it, but you have to give me time. I can't start dealing with this all at once."

"You shouldn't." Jack agreed. "Take as much time as you need, we'll be here for you if you need us, right team?"

Owen had to smile as Jack put three fingers to his head in a boy scout style salute and the rest of the team quickly followed suit.

"Bunch of loonies the lot of you." He shot at them, but there was no malice behind the words.

"Well," Gwen spoke up suddenly, "I don't know about you but I've had quite enough revelations for one evening. Back to work?"

"Nope." Jack said, standing up and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Oh come on Jack," Owen all but whined, "there's only Ianto left and he's obviously been sleeping well."

Jack had to bite down on the impulse to produce his usual smirk at that point, not wanting to embarrass poor Ianto any further.

"I don't mean we have to keep doing this," he explained, waving his hand at the group, "but I do mean we're not doing any more work today. We're going to the pub."

"Why?" Owen asked, his tone suddenly defensive again. "This supposed to be some kind of test 'cause …"

"No." Jack interrupted firmly. "This is supposed to be a bit of fun. It's quiet and I think we could all do with a bit of relaxation after this. So, get your coats."

They all stared at him, apparently unsure if he was kidding or not.

"Come on! Look whoever's last at the door buys the first round."

That got Owen up at least, ever the cheapskate, and Tosh and Gwen slowly followed, Gwen pulling out her phone to let Rhys know she might be back late. That just left Ianto, who took Jack's hand and pulled him round a corner out of sight of the others and kissed him, taking Jack by surprise. He wasn't complaining though, especially not when Ianto pushed him into the wall and deepened the kiss.

"What was that for?" He asked when Ianto finally pulled back for breath.

"Caring." Was the only reply he got before Ianto disappeared upstairs to fetch his coat.

Slightly confused but very happy Jack waited for a few minutes to give himself a chance to calm down and then made his own way back around the corner, only to find the other four stood by the door waiting for him.

"Your round mate!" Owen called, and Jack rolled his eyes as he went to fetch his wallet.


	2. Chapter 2

Nearly three hours later and they were all seated at a corner table in the pub that lay just across the road from the Hub, toa

Nearly three hours later and they were all seated at a corner table in the pub that lay just across the road from the Hub, toasting Owen who had finally given in and bought a round. He'd moaned and complained of course, but Jack and Ianto had already forked out and Jack refused to hear of Gwen or Tosh paying. Owen had pulled out the gender discrimination argument as a last resort but Jack replied with a set of morals from the 40's and he'd given up.

The pub was a nice one, old fashioned in places but with a corner set out as a dance floor so that anyone that wanted to could get up and have a bit of a boogie. No one had been on it when they'd arrived but the end of the workday had passed while they'd been there so the pub was steadily filling and there were a few eager dancers already moving. Jack decided he wanted to be one of them and threw his water down his throat before standing up. The movement caught the attention of the whole team, but he only wanted it from one of them.

"Dance with me?" He said, holding his hand out to Ianto who took it hesitantly. Jack pulled him to his feet and set off toward the dance floor, but found himself pulled back by the weight at the end of his arm. Confused he turned back.

"You don't want to?" He asked.

"I … should we?" Ianto replied.

"Why not?"

"Well, this isn't the most modern of places, people might think it's a little strange."

"I don't care what other people think Ianto, and neither should you. It's none of their business who we choose to spend our time with, to dance with, and I want to dance with you. Do you want to dance with me?"

"Yes."

"Come on then." Softening the instruction with a smile Jack pulled gently on the other man's arm until Ianto finally relented and followed him across the pub.

The other three watched them go, Tosh and Gwen with smiles on their faces, Owen scowling after them, and then at the two women.

"What are you smiling about?"

"They're so cute." Tosh replied. "Jack gets all nervous when he thinks Ianto doesn't want to do something with him."

"Doubt there's anything he wouldn't do for _him_." Owen griped and Gwen hit him on the arm.

"Be nice." She admonished.

"Hey I'm not saying it to them am I?" Owen argued. "Anyway shouldn't you be pissed off too, being in love with our Captain Jack and all?"

Gwen hit him again and Tosh glared.

"Leave her alone, you can't help who you love."

"I'm just saying."

"Look," Gwen spoke, not wanting another argument to start up, "I'm not even sure if I'm really in love with Jack. I mean, yes he's attractive and there's something about him that's so different to everyone else, but he's part of the job to me and I love this job, so maybe it's all just a bit confused. And anyway, if you're in love with someone all you want is for them to be happy, and since Ianto makes Jack happy I can be happy for them."

Owen looked at her for a moment, apparently not having heard this idea before.

"You're serious." He said.

"Of course I am. Look at them, how could you not be happy for them?"

Owen followed her gaze and found himself staring at Jack and Ianto who were slowly revolving on the spot in time to the music, arms around each other, Jack's hand cupping the back of Ianto's neck which was resting on his shoulder. As he watched them Ianto pulled his head up slightly to look at Jack, who returned his gaze with a smile and a kiss to the forehead before guiding Ianto's head back down again.

"Aha!" Gwen cried triumphantly making Owen jump and turn his attention back to her.

"What?" He asked, a little rattled, having been more moved than he'd expected by the obvious intimacy between his two colleagues.

"You're smiling, I told you that you couldn't help but be happy for them."

Owen paused in mid-argument, suddenly aware that actually he could feel that slight pulling in his cheeks that would indicate there was currently a rather genuine grin on his face. He quickly changed it to his usual scowl but found that only caused Gwen and Tosh to dissolve into giggles. In the end he rolled his eyes and allowed the smile to creep back.

"Fine." He sighed. "I'm happy for them, but do they really have to rub it in so much? Every time I turn around they seem to be attached at the hip."

"They don't mean to." Tosh replied quietly. "I think they're just making up for lost time. Whatever happened to Jack while he was away, well, I think it's made him realise that you need to appreciate what you've got."

"Right." Gwen agreed. "I mean look at today, no way would Jack have had us all talk about our feelings like that before he left. Something changed him, and I think maybe it was for the better. It's definitely helped his relationship with Ianto anyway."

The sly tone in her voice made Owen and Tosh follow her gaze, and they found themselves looking at Jack and Ianto again, this time deeply involved in a kiss. They were still dancing, bodies moving in time to the music, but they appeared to be impossibly closer together and Ianto's hands were now framing Jack's face, keeping him in the kiss.

"Bloody hell!" Owen barked out. "Changed his tune quick didn't he?"

Seeing the quizzical looks he was getting from his friends he elaborated.

"I mean Ianto, didn't even want to go and dance for fear of being outed and now he's snogging another man in the middle of the room. Not sure it's one of his better ideas, there are still some blokes round here that haven't quite joined the rest of us in the 21st century yet."

"I think you might be right, Owen." Tosh's voice had suddenly gone tight as she pointed to a spot a few feet behind her dancing colleagues.

"Oh shit." Owen muttered, clocking the three men who were currently sending disgusted glances at Jack and Ianto. "Maybe we should – "

He never got to finish his sentence as Gwen shot to her feet, grabbing Tosh by the hand as she did so and dragging her up as well.

"Come on." She said, setting off determinedly towards the dance floor.

"Wait, why? What are we doing?" Tosh threw out questions as she dug her heels in and tried to stop Gwen in her tracks. It wasn't really working, but she did at least get the questions answered.

"We are going to intercept those idiots." Gwen replied. "This is supposed to be a nice night out and I refuse to let some intolerant bastards ruin it."

"Gwen," Owen interjected, "what are you going to do? You can't just march up to them and tell them off they'll just get more pissed off, and it's not like you can shoot them."

"Why not? Could always get Ianto to RetCon everyone later." Gwen said, and then rolled her eyes as Tosh and Owen lifted startled eyes to her. "I'm kidding! That would ruin the evening anyway. Look, we're just going to … distract them, alright? No bloodshed involved."

Owen nodded, apparently satisfied by this, but Tosh took a wary step backwards.

"Wait a minute, you don't mean … we're not going to, you know, flirt with them or anything?"

"That, Tosh, is exactly what we're going to do."

Gwen tried to set off again but this time Tosh forced her to stop in earnest.

"Gwen, I can't!" She cried. "I wouldn't even know how to flirt and even if I did I wouldn't do it with them."

Gwen turned to face her, hands on hips and eyes burning. Tosh looked away, feeling slightly intimidated. Owen on the other hand started to remember just why he'd thought an affair with the fiery Welsh woman had been worth it.

"Look," Gwen said, unaware of her effect on either of them, "you see how happy Jack and Ianto are right now?"

Tosh nodded reluctantly, unable to deny it.

"And you want to keep them that way?"

Again Tosh nodded, knowing it would be her downfall.

"Well, come on then."

This time when Gwen started to drag her away Tosh didn't fight it. She had resigned herself to her fate and was now using her considerable intellectual prowess to figure out a way to get through this without losing too much dignity.

Ianto and Jack meanwhile had noticed none of this, being completely wrapped up in the music and each other, simply enjoying the chance to be close. Jack especially was enjoying the opportunity to have the younger man cuddled up in his arms without it being a prelude to anything. He was aware that seemed odd, but the two got surprisingly little free time just to be together despite the fact that Jack partially dictated Ianto's working hours. The problem was that the Rift was the other factor in those working hours, and it had a nasty habit of becoming active at the most inconvenient times. One memorable occasion had seen Jack chasing down a Weevil wearing nothing but his greatcoat while Ianto directed his boss with some difficulty given that he was still cuffed to Jack's bed.

Jack chuckled slightly as he remembered and felt Ianto lift his head to stare at him questioningly. Jack simply shook his head and kissed Ianto's forehead, amazed at the feeling of intimacy the action generated. It seemed Ianto felt the same way as he pressed closer, sliding his hands into Jack's waistcoat, the older man's jacket having been abandoned earlier.

Jack smiled, mirroring the action but going no further. Despite the arousal that Ianto's mere presence caused he found that he was content to leave things as they were and just enjoy the music. He had been surprised to find that he really did like what was being played. He wasn't sure who the song that was currently on was by, but he liked the style and found himself identifying with the words being sung. His extreme proximity to Ianto told him that the younger man was familiar with it; he could feel him mouthing the words as they danced.

"What's the song?" He muttered into Ianto's ear, grinning at the shiver the action elicited in his dance partner.

"It's called Patience." Ianto replied quietly. "Always reminded me of us for some reason."

Jack nodded slowly, listening to the lyrics as they seemed to explain the circumstances that had kept his and Ianto's relationship at something of a distance the year before. The pain of the losses they had both suffered, their inability to let their previous loves go, the anger and betrayal that had been simmering under the surface for so long and that had eventually led to their first real kiss. This had been followed by weeks of avoidance on Ianto's part, for he couldn't believe that he would be attracted to the man that had killed the woman he loved, and weeks of soul-searching on Jack's, who had not been sure that he had been ready to allow anything more to happen when his feelings about the Doctor were still so raw. They had settled their differences by the time Jack had left, but there was still little more between them than the physical, and it wasn't until Jack had returned a slightly changed man that they were able to form a real relationship.

As the song came to an end Jack gently lifted Ianto's head until it was on a level with his own and pressed a careful kiss to his lips, aware of Ianto's wariness with public displays of affection. He was happily surprised though when Ianto immediately took control of the kiss, deepening it and allowing his feelings for Jack to show through.

Neither of them noticed the three men heading their way or Gwen and Tosh brushing past them, Tosh muttering bitterly under her breath the whole way, or even the swift and very effective interception of the thugs by the two women. Instead they remained lost in the kiss and even when they pulled apart it was only by millimetres, eyes locked in an intense gaze, still gently swaying to the music even though it had now changed to something slightly more upbeat.

Fortunately, the three men that had been intent on disrupting the tender moment between Jack and Ianto were now fully under the control of Gwen and Tosh and had been expertly steered towards the bar. Not that they'd had much choice, Tosh mused as she gave her drinks order to one of the men, Gwen's determination had carried them all off in the right direction almost as firmly as the arms she had hooked her own into. The men hadn't seemed to mind though and had begun introducing themselves and flirting outrageously the second they had clapped eyes on the women forcibly moving them.

"'Ello gorgeous!" The tallest, Dylan, had smarmed as he looked down to see what was stopping him going to beat on the two men he had spied kissing and found Gwen looking up at him. "Who's your friend?"

Gwen had quickly introduced herself and Tosh, adding in a nice little back story about the two of them having been stood up and thinking that they might as well make the most out of being there. Tosh thought the story had been blown when the ugliest one, Lloyd, pointed across to Owen.

"Thought you came in with that guy?"

"Oh, no." Gwen lied smoothly. "He just came in at the same time and latched on to us. Figured we'd humour him while we were waiting but he's a bit of a prick really so we thought we'd find some better company."

That got grins from their newfound friends and an offer of drinks from the shortest of the lot, Harry. Gwen had accepted on both of their behalves and the five of them were now sat at the bar, Tosh and Gwen sharing despairing glances at the behaviour of the three men. How anyone could think that describing just how drunk they'd been could possibly be thought of as in any way titillating was beyond Tosh's imagination. Still, she thought, glancing over at where Jack and Ianto were still happily dancing together, it was worth it. She loved that her two colleagues had found happiness with each other, especially with everything that they'd been through to get this far, and watching them together gave her such a warm feeling inside that she was determined to help protect it. And so, with this in mind, she threw herself into the role that Gwen had been laying out for her.


	3. Chapter 3

Owen had watched with something akin to awe as he watched Gwen and Tosh literally stop the three burly men dead in their track

Owen had watched with something akin to awe as he watched Gwen and Tosh literally stop the three burly men dead in their tracks and cause them to do an abrupt about turn back to the bar.

"The power women have." He muttered under his breath. "Sometimes it's just not fair."

"Excuse me?" A voice came from just behind him, nearly making him jump out of his skin. He turned in his seat, hand going to his hip automatically to reach for his gun, but managed to stop himself pulling it out as he realised that the person speaking to him hadn't deliberately attempted to scare him to death. It was the look of shock and apology that gave it away he decided.

"Yes?" He asked, once his breathing had had a chance to settle.

"Um, never mind." The voice had gone very timid and Owen realised with a start that it was a woman talking to him. He'd been so startled the gender of the voice hadn't even occurred to him. He found that it suddenly reminded him of Tosh, that shy tone of voice she so often used around him, and immediately felt guilty for the way he'd reacted.

"No, look, you just caught me off guard. What was it you wanted?" He said, turning himself fully round so that he was facing his new companion straight on and attempting his best smile to put her at ease. It seemed to work.

"I, well, it's just that I'm waiting for someone and there's nowhere to sit so I wondered if you'd mind if I sat here? If your friends are coming back I can just …"

Owen interrupted her before she could talk herself out of her plan.

"No, it's fine. They've all buggered off anyway, at least for a while. Lot of them off canoodling and heading up mercy missions."

Seeing the quizzical look he was receiving as the woman sat down he shook his head apologetically.

"Sorry, thinking out loud. My name's Owen by the way."

"Sarah."

"Nice to meet you Sarah." He said, sticking out a hand for her to shake. "So, who you meeting?"

Sarah looked a little startled at his forwardness but apparently decided she might as well spend her time talking rather than sitting in silence with this complete stranger as she answered Owen's question with little delay.

"A guy from work. I, well I've liked him for a while but this is the first time he's really shown any interest in me."

"So this is what, a first date?"

"No! No, no, no." Sarah replied adamantly. "No, it's just a drink, you know, between friends. Workmates. Just without the rest of the usual crowd."

Owen listened to her with a sense of familiarity.

"And, well, I mean if it turned in to a date then that would be fantastic but no, it's just a drink with a friend. He doesn't think I want anything more. I mean, when I suggested meeting after work he was going to invite the others along!"

The feeling continued and Owen's gaze was inexorably drawn to where Tosh stood by the bar, being leered at by a man at least a full foot taller.

"I don't know. There are times when I think maybe he does realise that I like him, but then he does something like that and I see that he really is completely oblivious to it. I had wondered whether he was ignoring me on purpose because he must be the only person that doesn't see it, but I don't believe he'd be that cruel, so I suppose he really has just never noticed."

Owen managed to bring his eyes back to her just as she dipped her head to hide her face behind the curtain of her hair, embarrassed at how much she had just revealed to him, and had to hold back another groan of realisation as he recognised the action.

"Oh look I'm sorry, I should just go wait at the bar or something." Sarah started to gather up her things, having taken Owen's silence as meaning that he wanted nothing to do with her.

"No, it's alright." Owen said, placing a gentle hand on hers. "I was listening, in fact you were helping me see a few things more clearly."

Sarah looked at him and saw that he was telling the truth. Settling back down she focused on him.

"Similar situation?" She asked.

"Yeah, I think so anyway." Owen replied, still musing over his newfound discovery. "'Cept I'm the oblivious one in this version."

"Men." Sarah laughed softly.

"Oi!" Owen replied, not entirely offended but feeling that he should defend his sex somehow. "S'not my fault if she never got up the guts to tell me!"

"Perhaps you made yourself too unapproachable?"

Owen considered this, knowing it was true but also knowing that if it had been, say, Gwen who had actually harboured feelings for him the fact that he was a grumpy bugger most of the time would not have stopped her trying to get a message through to him. But Tosh, well, Tosh wouldn't say boo to a goose unless it was threatening some machine of hers. He sighed and shook his head.

"Bit of fault on both sides maybe." He conceded. "But I wasn't looking for it, you know?"

"And now that you've found it?"

Owen looked at her. He knew what she wanted him to say, knew that she was looking for her situation to parallel his and for it all to end happily ever after. He was sorry that he couldn't give that to her.

"It's not something I want to get into. Even if I had known I'd have had to pretend not to or something, it's just not what I want." He said, and watched her face fall before she managed to pull up a sympathetic smile. They sat quietly for a few minutes, each of them thinking, but eventually Sarah threw back her drink and patted his hand as she stood up.

"Well never mind, and wish me luck!" She said. "My not-really-a-date is here so I have to go, but I hope that you sort things out with this other version of me!"

Owen smiled back and caught her hand to shake it.

"Yeah well, you just make sure your version of me actually gets the point." He replied, and watched her walk off through the crowd toward the door. Sighing he leant back against his chair and was about to direct his attention back to Gwen and Tosh when his view was blocked by his other two colleagues.


	4. Chapter 4

Jack and Ianto had given up on dancing when the songs reached too fast a level for them to slow dance too, and nothing Jack co

Jack and Ianto had given up on dancing when the songs reached too fast a level for them to slow dance too, and nothing Jack could say would encourage Ianto to really let go enough to dance properly in such a public place. Jack didn't mind too much though. He had been considering returning to their seats ever since he'd glanced over and seen that Owen was sitting entirely alone, so when Ianto began to drag him back in that direction he followed without too much resistance. He offered some though, as watching Ianto's arm muscles strain was a pleasure he never got enough of.

"Hey." He said as he threw himself into a chair. "Where'd the others go?"

Owen tilted his head toward the bar as he took a drink, and Jack and Ianto followed his gaze, finding Gwen and Tosh standing in the midst of three burly men.

"Wouldn't have thought they were their type." Ianto said, and grimaced at his own grammar.

"Definitely not Tosh's." Jack agreed, a confused frown on his face. "Maybe I should go make sure everything's alright."

He was just pushing up from the table when Owen's hands grabbed his wrist.

"No."

"Look, I'll only be a second and Ianto'll still be here, I just – "

"I said no. They're only with those idiots so that you two can have a quiet evening out, you go barging in and you'll undo all their hard work."

"What?" Jack said after a few seconds pause as he tried to figure out what Owen was talking about.

"Alright, when you and teaboy here were having your little dance those three blokes decided to teach you a lesson for daring to actually behave as though you weren't living in the Stone Age. Luckily we spotted them before they could actually get hold of you, and Gwen dragged Tosh off to play distract-the-moron so that you two could carry on having a good time. Tosh wasn't exactly keen but one look at the soppy eyes you two were giving each other and she was convinced that it was the right thing to do."

Jack and Ianto looked at each other and then at Gwen and Tosh with newfound respect.

"They're entertaining Neanderthal's just so that Jack and I weren't disturbed?" Ianto asked.

"Yep."

"That's incredibly generous, and very sweet. I can't imagine they're getting anything out of it. Remind me to pick up some chocolates for them tomorrow as a thank you." Ianto said, a smile on his face and in his voice.

"Hey, how come I don't get anything?" Owen asked.

"Because you're not currently suffering the indignity of pretending to find men like that attractive?" Jack suggested.

"Yeah, because if I was there'd have been that fight we were trying to avoid." Owen replied, rolling his eyes. "Look, just let them talk themselves out of it, they've seen you two are back here now and considering Gwen just got Tosh over there flirting I think she should be able to manage getting back."

Jack relaxed back into his seat but kept a wary eye on the two women at the bar.

"Alright. But the first sign that they're not absolutely coping and I'm going over there."

Owen rolled his eyes again but nodded, not bothering to tell his boss that he had been watching Gwen and Tosh for exactly the same sign ever since they intercepted the three men so there was no need to worry, as he knew that Jack would worry anyway. Instead he lifted his glass in a silent toast to the selfless women at the bar and found himself joined in it by Jack and Ianto.

Gwen, meanwhile, was impressed with how Tosh was handling the situation, especially considering it had taken all of Gwen's arm strength to get the other woman to follow her in the first place. She was batting her eyelashes and coyly tucking her hair behind her ear in what seemed a practised way that had all three men drooling over her and yet Gwen was sure that this wasn't something Tosh did regularly. To be honest it wasn't something she did regularly these days either, but even so she would have gambled that she had done it more recently than Tosh.

Not that she was complaining, so long as her and Tosh's tactics were working it meant the heat was off Jack and Ianto and she was glad of that, as furtive glances over at the dance floor had shown her that the two were still happily wrapped up in each other. She was keeping a close eye on them in case she spotted any other berks heading over toward them so she could signal Owen to do something, though she suspected that he might not currently be much use considering he was being kept occupied by a blonde woman who was cheerily chatting away with him.

Turning her attention back to the bar once more she was just in time to hear Harry ask if she wanted another drink. A glance at Tosh told her this wasn't a wise move, the other woman might be getting the hang of the flirting side of meeting men in bars but not the keeping herself safe side. She was already on her third gin and tonic and it looked as though another was being ordered for her.

"No, thanks." She said. "I'm designated driver."

"Oh you don't need to worry about that, love." Lloyd spoke up. "We can help you get a taxi home."

"Thanks for the offer," Gwen replied, forcing the smile to remain on her face, "but I've got to get in to work early tomorrow and I'm terrible at getting in on time if I don't have the car."

"Come back with me and I'll take you in tomorrow." Lloyd said with a leer. Gwen realised that they were getting too deep in now, she needed to nip this in the bud before it went much further. A look at the dance floor filled her with a sense of relief as she saw that Jack and Ianto had now left it and she was free to get herself and Tosh out of this situation.

"I'm sorry but actually we do need to be going now." She said, hoping her poker face would hold up. "Like I said, an early start tomorrow, for both of us."

Taking hold of Tosh's elbow gently she began to steer them out of the crowd at the bar but was stopped by a hand on her own arm.

"What's the rush darling?" Dylan asked. "Me and Tosh here were getting on great, why are you running off so suddenly?"

Gwen swore internally, wanting to get out of this but not wanting to show she was getting a little worried as she really did not want Jack charging to the rescue. She'd seen Owen pointing them out and explaining and having to stop Jack marching right on up there. A fight would be unavoidable if he got a whiff that she didn't think everything was fine. Some quick thinking was in order here.

"Look," she began, "we really do have to go but we had a great time with you guys tonight, we should do it again soon. Tell you what, how about you give us your numbers and we'll give you a ring tomorrow?"

Harry and Dylan immediately reached for their phones but Lloyd, who Gwen suspected had drunk less than the other two, wagged his finger in her face and argued back.

"Tell you what, why don't you two give us your numbers. We're not the ones disappearing off now are we?"

Gwen looked at Tosh resignedly, but was surprised to see a twinkle in her colleague's eyes.

"Sure!" Tosh said, and scribbled down a number on a napkin. "Talk to you tomorrow?"

The three men agreed instantly, already fighting over who got to keep the number, letting Gwen and Tosh finally head back to their table.

"Tosh!" Gwen hissed. "What were you doing? You can't just hand out numbers like that!"

"Calm down." Tosh replied with a laugh. "Computer genius here, remember? There's a mobile number for Torchwood that we give out to people we interview sometimes, if we think they don't need RetConning or they could provide some information, you know that right?"

Gwen nodded, realisation dawning on her.

"You gave them the number to that."

"Exactly, and I always have it on me just in case so if they ring to check the number works I'll be able to answer. Plus I change the number for this each time we finally RetCon a person so once I know their numbers we can find out their details, RetCon them and go back to normal."

Gwen looked at Tosh with an impressed smile.

"Bit complicated though isn't it?" She asked.

"Well maybe, but better than giving out our numbers and having to change them. Now, I guess we'd better leave?"

"Yep." Gwen replied. "You head outside, I'll tell the others to follow us out."

Tosh nodded her agreement and disappeared through the thick front doors. Gwen glanced at the bar and saw Harry, Lloyd and Dylan already engrossed in another woman and headed over to the rest of the Torchwood team to explain what was going on and why she was about to drag them all away.


	5. Chapter 5

Five minutes later and they were all stood in the cold air outside the pub, at something of a loss as to what to do now

Five minutes later and they were all stood in the cold air outside the pub, at something of a loss as to what to do now. None of them really wanted to go home quite yet. It wasn't often that they got to spend much time with each other outside the Hub when they weren't chasing aliens, and they'd all discovered that actually they quite liked having the chance to do a bit of socialising. Still, it wouldn't be much fun hanging around in the dark outside a pub for the rest of the evening.

"So, back to the Hub?" Owen suggested, earning himself a dirty look from Jack.

"No." His boss replied. "If we go back there you'll all find something work-related to do and the whole point of this was to do things together that aren't linked to Torchwood."

"Fine." Owen snapped back. "Then you think of something."

One look at Jack and the rest of the team knew that he was as stumped as they were. Gwen laughed internally, despairing at the fact that five grown adults couldn't think of a single thing to do or place to go that didn't revolve around their work. She was just about to suggest that maybe they should just give it up as a lost cause when Ianto spoke.

"Well, if it doesn't count as being Torchwood related then perhaps you would like to come back to mine?"

They all looked at him, surprised that he had offered. None of them bar Jack had ever been to his home before, he kept his private life very private, and if they were honest with themselves there was some level of wariness about that considering the last time he had kept something private it had tried to kill them.

"You sure?" Jack asked, well aware that Ianto wasn't usually one to invite people in on a whim and determined to make sure he didn't feel forced into this.

"I am." Ianto replied with a smile. "This new caring and sharing idea of yours seems to be working so far and as I didn't have to reveal anything about myself earlier I thought this might make it even."

"You and your sense of fair play." Jack grinned at him. "Well it sounds good to me, anyone else coming?"

"Yep." Gwen replied immediately, linking her arm through Ianto's. The closeness the two of them had developed over those few months Jack had been gone meaning that any hesitation she might have felt was thoroughly squashed down before it could show, as she knew how much it would hurt Ianto to think that he still wasn't trusted.

Tosh gave her assent almost as quickly, and as everyone stared at him Owen grunted his.

"Yeah whatever, but I'd better be getting a coffee for this." He grumbled, and winced at the good-natured thumps he received from Tosh and Jack before finding his arm accosted by Gwen's remaining one and being dragged off. Choosing to remain attached to it he followed on, Tosh and Jack bringing up the rear.

It took them only minutes to reach Ianto's flat and the journey felt shorter thanks to the fair amount of alcohol in all of them and the conversation that was flowing more and more easily as the night went on. Ianto was feeling a little nervous about the entire Torchwood crew invading his home, aware that it would provide them with a wealth of information about him, but he wanted to show willing. He also thought that Jack was right about getting things out in the open and not keeping things so private, and letting his colleagues into his home was Ianto's way of showing his agreement with the idea.

They got inside without any problems, the team remaining quiet enough that they didn't disturb any of Ianto's neighbours, at least until Ianto shut the door behind him.

"Wow!" Gwen was the first to speak, though it was more of a squeal. "This place is amazing. It's so big!"

Ianto shook his head shyly but Jack caught him at it.

"Hey, no being modest, this place is amazing and you know it."

Never a fan of being the centre of attention Ianto felt himself begin to blush. Not wanting the others to see he turned toward the kitchen in an attempt at distraction.

"Anyone for coffee?"

This was met with various reactions. Jack gave a smirk, knowing full well what Ianto was doing. Gwen beamed and nodded in reply. Tosh smiled and offered help. Owen, being Owen, just snorted.

"Yeah, like they're going to say no. And I'll take one, was the deal for coming here remember?"

Ianto nearly reacted to Owen's words, so used to the malice and belittlement in them, but stopped short as he realised that Owen was actually … joking? In a … jovially sarcastic way rather than a viciously sarcastic one? The difference was slight but it was there, and Ianto smiled as he realised Owen was really prepared to try at this new 'being friends' thing.

"Right. Five coffee's coming up. It's alright Tosh," he said as she started towards him, "I can manage. You can join the others in exploring."

The guilty looks on everyone but Jack's faces made him laugh. There was no way they hadn't been going to poke around the second his back was turned, and they knew he knew that, but still they couldn't help feeling bad about it.

"I don't mind." He said with a smile. "I wouldn't have invited you if I did."

"Well that just takes all the fun out of it." Owen replied with a scowl, but he disappeared off in the direction of Ianto's bathroom all the same.

Still chuckling Ianto finally made it into the kitchen and began the always calming task of making the coffee the way he liked it to be done. He knew it would probably take him long enough for them to have a good nose about and so he didn't rush the process. Instead he enjoyed the routine in a way he rarely had time to do anymore now that he was counted as a field agent and taken out on missions rather than left in the Hub to prepare for the return of the others. He was aware that this was to make him feel more like a member of the team than a butler and though he had never railed against his old role, indeed he had suggested it to Jack, he appreciated the gesture, all the more so given the event that had caused them all to realise he was more than a teaboy.

Shaking himself out of his memories Ianto collected everything onto a tray and set off for the living room. Concentrating on what he was carrying he didn't see Jack heading towards him and it was only the latter's lightning reactions that prevented hot coffee, milk, sugar and crockery raining down over the pair of them.

"Sorry!" Jack said, seeming slightly stunned as he stood there with one hand clutching the tray and the other hand holding the milk jug that he had grabbed as it began to fly off the tray. "Was just wondering what was taking you so long."

"Always impatient." Ianto replied, carefully placing the coffee he had snatched back onto the tray and brushing some sugar from his shirt. "I was on my way."

"Yeah, figured that out." Jack's voice was filled with humour, and as Ianto regained his grip on the tray he looked up to see Jack shaking with barely suppressed amusement as he stared at something just above Ianto. Confused Ianto tried to look up but as he did so he felt something slide from his head and heard Jack burst out into full-fledged laughter. Turning a little Ianto caught sight of himself in the reflection from the shiny oven door and couldn't help but laugh himself as he saw the small pile of sugar balanced carefully on top of his head. Setting the tray back down he walked to the bin and brushed the sugar away, all the while hearing Jack's peals of laughter behind him.

"What's going on?" A voice from the doorway asked. Apparently the noises from the kitchen had been enough to drag his other guests away from their exploration of his house.

"Nothing." Ianto replied, shooting Jack a dirty look as the other man resolutely failed to hold his laughter in check.

"Yeah, ok." Owen's snark joined the conversation. "We don't really care, we were just wondering where the coffee was."

This only set Jack off again and he bent double, holding onto the work surface in order to stay upright. Ianto merely rolled his eyes, though he did cast a quick glance toward the oven again to make sure he was now sugar free.

"It's right here." He said, picking up the tray and pushing it at Owen who took it greedily.

"Cheers mate." He said, and then frowned, staring into a nearly empty bowl. "Got any more sugar, think we might need a bit extra."

That was too much for Jack who now slid to the floor, back against the cabinet, holding his stomach. Tears were streaming down his face as he attempted to explain the source of his amusement to the others. To Ianto's relief, however, his boss couldn't yet manage words and was reduced to pointing to the tray and then Ianto's head. This primitive form of sign language was incomprehensible to the rest of the team, and so they shrugged and looked to Ianto for answers.

"Don't ask me." He said, searching out a bag of sugar. "Maybe it's caffeine withdrawal."

"Is not." Jack interjected unexpectedly. "It was …on his … sugar!" But that was all he could manage before he had to give in to the laughter again. Giving up he waved them away and, taking both tray and extra sugar, they disappeared.

Ianto waited a few moments, letting Jack laugh himself out, and once his boss had reached the giggling stage he held out a hand to help him to his feet. Jack took it and bounced back up, ruffling Ianto's hair once he got there.

"All gone." He announced.

"Yes." Ianto replied. "It wasn't that funny you know."

"Oh it was, Ianto, it really was. You didn't see your expression when you realised it was there. No one could have kept a straight face when you were trying to figure out what was going on. And then when the others came in, and when Owen asked for more sugar!"

"Alright, alright." Ianto interrupted, sensing that if he let Jack continue down memory lane they'd never manage to leave the kitchen. "It was funny. But don't say anything to the others, especially Owen. I'd quite like for him to not imagine me with a pile of sugar on my head every time he looks at me if you don't mind."

Jack nodded, but there was a twinkle in his eye Ianto didn't quite trust.

"I mean it, Jack."

"I know!" Jack replied. "I promise, _Owen_ will never imagine you with a pile of sugar on your head."

Picking up on the intonation in his words Ianto stared at his lover in disbelief.

"Is there no end to your kinks?" He wondered half to himself but got a reply anyway.

"Nope." Jack said cheerfully and directed Ianto out of the kitchen. "Come on, better get out there before that lot drink all our coffee."

Indeed once they got back to the living room they found Gwen and Owen greedily eyeing their mugs, despite the abundance of coffee left in their own. Jack cleared his throat meaningfully and they immediately backed off, making room around the small table for their other two colleagues.

"So, is it back to Truth or Consequences or shall we do something a little less potentially explosive?" Ianto asked as he sat down, mainly directing his question at Jack, who had been the driving force behind the evening so far.

"Sure let's go with the easy option." Jack replied. "Any ideas?"

"It was my idea to come here, it's someone else's turn now." Ianto argued.

"Don't look at me." Tosh replied. "I got myself and Gwen out of a sticky situation back there, I'm out of ideas."

"And I had the idea of distracting those goons." Gwen piped up.

As one, the team turned to look at Owen who shrugged helplessly and looked around the room desperate for some kind of inspiration.

"A film?" He asked finally, eyes alighting on Ianto's television.

"Great!" Jack jumped up and opened a cupboard door, revealing a stack of DVD's. Ianto did not miss the raised eyebrows and smirks at how well Jack knew his home but found that he didn't mind them, he liked the rest of the team knowing that he and Jack shared more than just sex.

"What does everyone want?" Jack asked, holding up a small selection and passing it to Tosh. "We've got action, sc-fi, romance … whole lot of stuff."

"No romance." Owen said sharply, and Tosh handed back a few of the DVD's immediately.

"And not sci-fi." Gwen added. "We get enough of that each day as it is."

More DVD's returned to Jack's hands and, under Ianto's searching gaze, he put them back in their rightful places. Ianto nodded in satisfaction and Jack grinned at him. Usually he would have put them back in the wrong place just for the pleasure of seeing Ianto twitch for the rest of the evening until he gave in and sorted them out, but he really didn't want to mess things up now when everyone was getting on so well, and Ianto tended to get grumpy when things weren't quite right.

"Action it is." Tosh said, holding up the two remaining cases. "We've got Die Hard or Indiana Jones."

"Indy!" Gwen cried, at the exact same moment as Owen shouted, "Die Hard!"

"I'm for Indiana Jones as well." Ianto replied, having watched Die Hard more than enough times over the years, it always seemed to be on the television these days.

"I really don't mind." Tosh spoke quietly, avoiding a confrontation as usual.

"Gives me the casting vote." Jack said happily. "Oh don't roll your eyes Owen." He continued, catching his colleague doing exactly that. "Alright yes I'm going to side with Ianto but it's only because Harrison Ford is so much hotter than Bruce Willis."

"Too much information, thanks." Owen grumbled, but took his defeat with surprising grace, though he did steal the seat Jack had been sitting in originally while he was putting the disc in.

For his part Jack didn't mind this as it left a space free on the sofa next to Ianto that he readily took, Gwen was on the other side of Ianto who was in the middle and Tosh was curled in her armchair. Ianto was actually surprised to realise that they all fitted, he hadn't noticed how much furniture he had before. Smiling slightly he found that he rather enjoyed seeing all his seats filled, and settled back against Jack to watch the film.

"Keep it clean alright you two? I don't care how hot this guy is, I don't want to see any funny business over there." He heard from Owen, and felt Jack's rumbles of laughter. He smiled himself; glad that the evening had left them feeling free enough to joke with each other like this. He wasn't sure the effects would last but it was nice to feel them, at least for a little while.

"I'm sure they'll behave." Gwen spoke up, though her eyes never left the screen, already captivated by the opening sequence. "Right Jack? Ianto?"

"Right." They chorused, and meant it. Fun as winding Owen up was they actually preferred the non-annoyed version right now, and the film was more than enough to keep them occupied.

An hour later and Jack decided that it wouldn't have mattered what film they had decided to watch as he surveyed his team who were currently all fast asleep. Tosh had gone first, the stress of learning to flirt having taken the energy from her. Gwen had covered her with a blanket and grabbed one for herself, settling down on the floor and following her friend into sleep before long. Ianto had gone next, warm and heavy against Jack's chest. It was Owen that he'd been watching though, waiting to see if the man would allow himself to drift off as he so clearly wanted. It had taken a good twenty minutes since Owen had realised he was starting to doze but finally he succumbed to sleep and so far, Jack was pleased to note, he appeared to be resting peacefully.

Looking at his team, his friends, Jack smiled. Sleep wouldn't be coming to him that night, he was aware of that, but it cheered him to know that he had helped solve the problems of the others, at least for one night. The weight of everything he knew of their future bore down on him so heavily at times, and it was these moments that he had taught himself to live for. Friendship and love, that was what was important. It was a fact that he had forgotten over the years, and only his recent trials with the Doctor had reminded him of it, and now he meant to hold on to it. Still smiling he switched off the screen and relaxed into the sofa, prepared to wait out the quiet of the night for the joys of the morning.

THE END

Alright, time for some thanks. Most of it goes to my wonderful beta, Twilight Walters, who had never watched Torchwood and yet still generously read this over for me and made sure it all made sense. I think I converted her. :D

Thanks also to everyone who reviewed. This being my first Torchwood fic having some kind of response, even just a few words, really helped. So thank you to: Super Spazz Attack, hotflower901, Mini Librarian, Elanor16, Twilight Walters, Pinkfairy727, gaia-x-goddess. You made my day.


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